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Chelodina kuchlingi CANN, 1997

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Higher TaxaChelidae, Chelodininae, Pleurodira, Testudines (turtles)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Kuchling’s Snake-necked Turtle
E: Kimberley Snake-necked Turtle [walloyarrina] 
SynonymChelodina kuchlingi CANN 1997
Chelodina kuchlingi CANN 1998
Chelodina kuchlingi — COGGER 2000: 738
Macrochelodina kuchlingi — ARTNER 2003
Chelodina kuchlingi — BONIN et al 2006
Macrochelodina kuchlingi — FRITZ & HAVAS 2007
Chelodina burrungandjii walloyarrina MCCORD & JOSEPH-OUNI 2007
Macrochelodina walloyarrina MCCORD & JOSEPH-OUNI 2007
Macrochelodina wallyarrina — VALVERDE 2010 (in error)
Chelodina kuchlingi — WILSOIN & SWAN 2010
Chelodina (Macrochelodina) kuchlingi — TTWG 2014
Chelodina (Macrochelodina) walloyarrina — TTWG 2014
Chelodina kuchlingi — KEHLMAIER et al. 2019
Chelodina (Chelydera) kuchlingi — SHEA et al. 2020
Chelodina kuchlingi — TTWG 2021
Chelodina walloyarrina — DOODY et al. 2021
Chelodina walloyarrina — TTWG 2021
Chelodina (Chelydera) kuchlingi — KEHLMAIER et al. 2025 
DistributionNW Australia

Type locality: “said to come from Kalumburu” (14°18'S x 126°28'E). Corrected to Parry Creek, lower Ord River floodplain, Kimberley, Western Australia by Kuchling 2020.

walloyarrina (invalid): Australia (Western Australia); Type locality: The Fitzroy River at Fitzroy River Crossing, Western Australia, Australia, 18° 10.834’ S and 125° 35.849’ E.  
Reproductionoviparous. 
TypesHolotype: WAM R29411
Holotype: WAM R164345, an adult male (224 mm carapace length), preserved in alcohol, collected by Dion Wedd, Glen Erikson, Jack Cover, and John Seyjagat in the Fitzroy River, on 20 July 2004 (Western Australian Museum) [walloyarrina] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (kuchlingi): M. kuchlingi is similar to those freshwater turtles from northern Australia referred to as Chelodina rugosa, which (fomprise several species. Chelodina kuchlingi has a round head in: profile and an evenly oval and light fawn coloured carapace which easily distinguishes it from those Chelodina rugosa-like turtles in the Kimberley and Arnhem Land regions. These turtles have a wedge shaped head in profile and an oblong shaped and very dark, almost black coloured carapace. Chelodina kuchlingi can be distinguished from those populations currently assigned to Chelodina rugosa in the lowland waterways of the Northern Territory and Queensland by the shape and texture of the carapace. The carapace is similarly coloured in the two species but the shell of Chelodina kuchlingi is rounded and the shields have radiating rugosities whereas Chelodina rugosa is pear or oblong shaped and smooth [from CANN 1997].


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CommentSynonymy: Chelodina kuchlingi Cann, 1997c was described from a single specimen of uncertain origin with a long history of captivity and so is treated as a junior synonym of C. rugosa (Georges & Thomson, 2006). The 1998 book by CANN says "A new species of long-necked turtle is described here, from the Kimberley region of north-west Australia", implying that the 1998 description was the first although the 1997 paper was published first. Not listed by COGGER 2014, but Scott Thomson (pers. comm. 7 Nov 2015) considers it as valid for the time being, but says its status is not really clear. Chelodina walloyarrina was not listed by COGGER 2014 and probably considered as a synonym of Chelodina burrungandjii by him. Kehlmaier et al. (2025) synonymize walloyarrina with kuchlingi.

Habitat: freshwater (rivers, swamps)

Distribution: see map in Kehlmaier et la. 2025: 128 (Fig. 1)

Abundance: Rare.

RDB speciesID: 24305 [walloyarrina]

Etymology (walloyarrina): The name walloyarrina is a combination of two Australian aboriginal words — wallo meaning “chin,” and yarrin meaning “bearded” — in accord with the common name “bearded longneck turtle” often given to the longnecks of the Kimberley (because of their long barbels). 
EtymologyNamed after Gerald Kuchling (b. 1952), turtle biologist. (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024) 
References
  • ALACS, E.A.; M. J. HILLYER, A. GEORGES, N. N. FITZSIMMONS and J. M. HUGHES 2009. Development of microsatellite markers in the Australasian snake-necked turtle Chelodina rugusa [sic] and cross-species amplification. Molecular Ecology Resources 9: 350–353 - get paper here
  • Alderton, D. 1988. Turtles and tortoises of the world. Facts on File, New York.
  • Auer, Markus 2011. Beobachtungen zu Vorkommen und Handel von Schildkröten in Nordlaos. Sauria, Berlin 33 (1): 3-11 - get paper here
  • Bonin, F., Devaux, B. & Dupré, A. 2006. Turtles of the World. English translation by P.C.H. Pritchard. Johns Hopkins University Press, 416 pp.
  • Bour, R. 2008. Global diversity of turtles (Chelonii; Reptilia) in freshwater. Hydrobiologia 595:593–598 - get paper here
  • Cann, John 1997. Kuchlings long-neck turtle, Chelodina kuchlingi sp. nov. Monitor: Journal of the Victorian Herpetological Society 9 (1): 41-44.
  • Cann, John 1998. Australian Freshwater Turtles. Beaumont Publishing, Singapore: 292 pp.
  • Cogger, H.G. 2000. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 6th ed. Ralph Curtis Publishing, Sanibel Island, 808 pp.
  • DOODY, J. SEAN; RICHARD VOGT, SIMON CLULOW & DAVID RHIND. 2021. CHELODINA WALLOYARRINA (Kimberley Sandstone Longneck Turtle). BEHAVIOR. Herpetological Review 52 (2): 386–387. - get paper here
  • Ellis, Ryan J. and Arthur Georges 2015. An annotated type catalogue of the turtles (Testudines: Pleurodira: Chelidae) in the collection of the Western Australian Museum. Rec. West. Aust. Mus. 30: 52-60, DOI: 10.18195/issn.0312-3162.30(1).2015.052-060 - get paper here
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  • Fritz, U. 2008. Comment on the proposed precedence of Chelodina rugosa Ogilby, 1890 (currently Macrochelodina rugosa; Reptilia, Testudines) over Chelodina oblonga Gray, 1841 (Case 3351; see BZN 63: 187–193, 64: 68, 127–128). Bull. Zool. Nomenclature 65 (1): - get paper here
  • Fry, Dene B. 1915. On a new Chelodina from Australia, with a key to the genus. Proc. Roy. Soc. Queensland 27: 88–90. - get paper here
  • Gaffney, Eugene S. 1977. The side-necked turtle family Chelidae: a theory of relationships using shared derived characters. American Museum Novitates (2620): 1-28 - get paper here
  • Georges, A. & Thomson, S. 2010. Diversity of Australasian freshwater turtles, with an annotated synonymy and keys to species. Zootaxa 2496: 1–37 - get paper here
  • Georges, A.; J. Birrell, K. M. Saint, W. McCord und S. C. Donnellan 1998. A phylogeny for side-necked turtles (Chelonia: Pleurodira) based on mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequence variation. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 67: 213-246 [1999] - get paper here
  • Grace, J. 1997. Captive breeding of the Black-headed python, Aspidites melanocephalus. Monitor: Journal of the Victorian Herpetological Society. 9 (1): 8-9
  • Gray, J.E. 1841. A catalogue of the species of reptiles and Amphibia hitherto described as inhabiting Australia, with a description of some new species from Western Australia. Appendix E, pp. 422-449. In: G. Grey, Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in Northwestern and Western Australia, during the years 1837, 38, and 39, under the authority of Her Majesty's Government. T. and W. Boone, London. Vol. 2: 422-449 + plates - get paper here
  • Gray,J.E. 1856. On some new species freshwater tortoises from North America, Ceylon and Australia. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (2) 18: 263-268 - get paper here
  • ICZN 2013. OPINION 2315 (Case 3351) Chelodina rugosa Ogilby, 1890 (currently Macrochelodina rugosa; Reptilia, Testudines): precedence not granted over Chelodina oblonga Gray, 1841. Bull. Zool. Nomenclature 70 (1): 57-60 - get paper here
  • Iskandar, Djoko T. and Walter R. Erdelen 2006. Conservation of amphibians and reptiles in Indonesia: issues and problems. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 4 (1): 60-87 - get paper here
  • Iverson, John B., Scott A. Thomson and Arthur Georges 2001. Validity of taxonomic changes for turtles proposed by Wells and Wellington. Journal of Herpetology 35 (3): 361-368 - get paper here
  • Kehlmaier, C., Fritz, U., & Kuchling, G. 2025. The taxonomic quagmire of northern Australian snake-necked turtles (Testudines: Chelidae): Chelodina kuchlingi—Extinct or hiding in plain sight? Vertebrate Zoology, 75, 127-145 - get paper here
  • Kehlmaier, C., Zhang, X., Georges, A., Campbell, P. D., Thomson, S., & Fritz, U. 2019. Mitogenomics of historical type specimens of Australasian turtles: clarification of taxonomic confusion and old mitochondrial introgression. Scientific Reports, 9(1): 5841 - get paper here
  • Kuchling, G. 2010. Taxonomy and nomenclature of the longneck turtle (genus Chelodina) from south-western Australia. Rec. West. Austr. Mus. 25 (4): 449–454 - get paper here
  • Kuchling, G. 2020. Revised Type Locality and Distribution of the Data Deficient Chelodina kuchlingi and a Review of its Status as a Distinct Species. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 19 (1): 48-57 - get paper here
  • Kuchling, Gerald 2013. A turtle trying to keep its head above water in the Land Down Under. The Tortoise 1 (2): 98-107.
  • McCord, W. P., and M. Joseph-Ouni. 2007. A New Genus of Australian Longneck Turtle (Testudines: Chelidae) and a New Species of Macrochelodina from the Kimberley Region of Western Australia (Australia). Reptilia (GB) (53): 56-64 - get paper here
  • Ogilby, J.D. 1890. Description of a new Australian tortoise. Rec. Austral. Mus. 1: 56-59 - get paper here
  • Rhodin,A.G.J. & Mittermeier,R.A. 1976. Chelodina parkeri, a new species of chelid turtle from New Guinea, with a discussion of Chelodina siebenrocki Werner 1901. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard 147 (11): 465-488 - get paper here
  • Savage, Jay M. 2007. Comment on the proposed precedence of Chelodina rugosa Ogilby, 1890 (currently Macrochelodina rugosa; Reptilia, Testudines) over Chelodina oblonga Gray, 1841. Bull. Zool. Nomenclature 64 (1) - get paper here
  • Seddon, J. M.;Georges, A.;Baverstock, P. R.;McCord, W. 1997. Phylogenetic relationships of chelid turtles (Pleurodira: Chelidae) based on mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene sequence variation. Mol Phylogenet Evol 7 (1): 55-61 - get paper here
  • SHEA, GLENN; SCOTT THOMSON & ARTHUR GEORGES 2020. The identity of Chelodina oblonga Gray 1841 (Testudines: Chelidae) reassessed. Zootaxa 4779 (3): 419–437 - get paper here
  • Siebenrock, F. 1905. Chelonologische Notizen. Zool. Anz. 29: 460-468 - get paper here
  • Thomson, S. A. 2006. Case 3351. Chelodina rugosa Ogilby, 1890 (currently Macrochelodina rugosa; Reptilia, Testudines): proposed precedence over Chelodina oblonga Gray, 1841. Bull. Zool. Nomenclature 63: 187-193. - get paper here
  • Thomson, Scott 2000. The identification of the holotype of Chelodina oblonga (Testudines: Chelidae) with a discussion of taxonomic implications. Chelonian Conserv. Biol. 3 (4):745-749
  • TTWG [Peter Paul van Dijk, John B. Iverson, Anders G.J. Rhodin, H. Bradley Shaffer, and Roger Bour] 2014. Turtles of the World, 7th Edition: Annotated Checklist of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution with Maps, and Conservation Status. 000.v7. Chelonian Research Monographs (ISSN 1088-7105) No. 5, doi:10.3854/crm.5.000.checklist.v7.2014 - get paper here
  • TTWG; Rhodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J.B., Bour, R., Fritz, U., Georges, A., Shaffer, H.B., and van Dijk, P.P. 2021. Turtles of the World: Annotated Checklist and Atlas of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status (9th Ed.). In: Rhodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J.B., van Dijk, P.P., Stanford, C.B., Goode, E.V., Buhlmann, K.A., and Mittermeier, R.A. (Eds.). Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Chelonian Research Monographs 8:1–472. doi:10.3854/crm.8.checklist.atlas.v9.2021. - get paper here
  • Valverde, J. 2010. Schlangenhalsschildkröten. Reptilia (Münster) 15 (85): 16-23 [erratum in 86: 10] - get paper here
  • Werner, F. 1901. Ueber Reptilien und Batrachier aus Ecuador und Neu-Guinea. Verh. Zool.-bot. Ges. Wien 51: 593-614 - get paper here
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  • Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
 
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